Mastery At A Price
by Azura Rayume
Summary: Padawans... Many can be more than bothersome. With a stubborn girl for an apprentice and a possible Sith Lord on Coruscant, young Master Luke Skywalker has more than a full plate. T because I'm lame and violent.
1. Prologue

Sometimes he could still hear them. And by "them," the young man of a meager twenty-seven standard years meant the voices of Jedi he had had the honor to meet and the privelage to train under.

Obi-Wan, former general of the Clone Wars, was the most easily recognized. His first master, "Old Ben" had been the first to teach him of lightsaber techniques and finding power in the force. Even after his untimely death by the blade of a Sith Lord, he had continued to instruct his final Padawan throught the Force itself.

Master Yoda, ancient when the young Jedi had first met him, had taken up the mantle of intructor at an age well over 900. He had trained his pupil through unorthodox methods and criptic phrases on the swamp planet of Dagobah until his death on the same world by the hand of time and the will of the Force.

The identity of the third voice othen escaped him until recently despite how many times he must have heard it throught his struggle against the Empire. Only once had he truly heard it, unincombered by mask and breathing apparatus. It belonged to a Jedi who had once lost to the Dark Side, a man of extraordianry power who had been tricked into killing his comrads and serving a new master, the one who had been renamed "Darth Vader" and given a visage that had once struck fear into the hearts of those who opposed the Empire. His true name was Anakin Skywalker.

His father.

Luke rarely heard from the yound voice that nearly matched his own, but he could never escape the intemingled joy and saddness that surged in his heart whenever his father would whisper in his ear.

_"Too young,"_ Yoda whould often mutter whenever Luke would inquire of his father's age. _"Too young to die, he was."_

Obi-Wan offered more by way of explination. _"I fought your father on Mustafar mear hours after he became Darth Vader."_ The sagely spirit had explained on once occasion. _"The man I knew was long gone by that time. He would have been about your age when the Jedi part of him died."_

About your age.

Theat statement had come as a sort of numbing reality to the young man who still considered himself the student in many ways. He understood that a Jedi could die- history and his own experiances could attest to that much- but that a Jedi died when they fell to the Dark Side... He had never even considered that as a possibility. And it bothered him.

Because now he was the one who had to watch the life of another.

He no longer had a master.

He _was_ the master.

And his Padawan was possibly the most stubborn girl in the galaxy.


	2. Chapter 1

"Master Skywalker!" a light voice climed from the starfighter bay. "Master, you pormised we'd go today!" A pout on her lips, feet planted in a defiant stance, arms crossed over the chest of her unembossed tunic and robe, she stared toward the stairs he was sure to sluggishly decend with a mischevious glint in her emerald eyes. He never moved fast enough for her in the mornings. By her heel, the Raakshann Tiger cub she had "rescued" on their previous expedition batted playfully at the hems of her plain pantlegs, molten gold eyes bright against the background of black and jagged silver striped, twin tail weaving in unison.

"Master!" she shouted again, brow furrowed in aggitation. "Come on! I've never been to Tatooine before!"

---

So began many a morning at the newly reawarded Jedi Temple on Coruscant. For a solid six years the government of the galaxy had smoothly transitioned back to the senatorial representation that many a world had longed to return to. Senators from many of the hyperspace capable planets had made a point of arriving on time every morning, thouroughly enjoying the new freedoms that had been allotted them. They were now regifted the ability to converse and debate for the better of the entire galaxy instead of having to answer to that man who had proclaimed himself "Emperor."

And in thanks, they had returned possession of the ancient, neglected building that was once a gleaming star on the cityscape of the capital planet to the organization of peacekeepers who would soon be charged with that almost archaic duty in the New Republic that had consisted of one man at the time.

Then came Shanra. An orphan of fifteen standard years with nothing more than a first name and a strange gift with creatures of all sorts that no one could quite understand, she had been living in the capital for most of those years and could remember nothing of the family or planet that could have come before. Young Skywalker had noted her on one of the overpasses one day, and something about her drew him from his meditations with his former masters to the pedestrian streets. That "something" he would later learn was very similar to what had first attracted Qui-Gon Jinn to speak with his father, an inborn strength in the Force.

Now, she was his Padawan, though quite a handful of one. Obi-Wan's ghostly voice would chuckle on occasion at her constant curiosity that she was very much like another youngling he had met once thought the habit she had of collecting creatures as one might some kind of figurine through him for a loop.

Here was the TonTon she had picked up on her first trip to Hoth. There, a hatchling Acklay from Felucia. Animals from all planets were attracted to her for some reason, and she insisted on bringing them back to the Temple with her, at first claiming that she needed some form of company that her master simply could not provide and now that the needed to be rescued from their habitats and taken to her own on Coruscant.

---

With an exausted expression, Luke finally plodded down the staircase, one hand lazily rubbing his eye. Of course there was no way for his Padawan to know how late he had been up, having been called to some late night Senate meeting by his sister, but he could not help but be in the slightest perterbed by her excitement this morning.

"It's just a bunch of sand, sand and more sand," he murmured sleepily, a yawn escaping him unbidden. "Besides, we can be there in practically no time. What's the rush?"

_"Do not chastise her eagerness,"_ the wisened voice of Obi-Wan whispered in his ear, jolting the young Master. _"You were just as excited to learn when you began this journey as she is now."_

_Yes,_ he thought back, realizing how stupid it would look to say this aloud when the voice was in his head to begin with. _She just doesn't have to be so chipper in the morinings is all._

_"Careful."_

"I know!" he grumbled rather loudly, drawing that attention of his Padawan once more.

"Know what, Master?" she asked, utterly perplexed for a moment.

"It's nothing just..." He trailed off, not wanting to explain this early.

"Oh! I know!" She pounded a fist into her open palm in a gesture of realization. "It was Master Kenobi, wasn't it? Good morning, Master Kenobi." The last bit was directed at a spirit that she could neither hear nor see, yet felt a certian reverence for all the same.

The sage inclined his head slightly in a sort of bow. _"And good morning to you, young Padawan."_ Luke relayed the message rather grudgedly, still not quite awake enough to deal with this morning ritual.

"Master Skywalker?" she inquired. "Why can't I see Masters Kenobi and Yoda?"

Finally, a question he could actually answer in his current state. "When you are strong enough in the Force you will be able to see and hear them."

This didn't seem to appease Shanra. "Don't try and get all wise with me, _Master._" The last word had a bit of sarcastic bite to it and was accentuated by the tip of her tounge poking from between her lips.

Luke glanced desperatly to the spritual Master for some way to handle this in a way that did not reflect the Dark Side or his actual upbringing. Unfortuantly, Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh, a strong sound that had only recently returned to him.

With a defeated sigh, Luke plodded toward one of the hyperspace-capable starfighters, shooting her one last glance and saying, "If I find one Krayt dragon egg in your cockpit, we'll see how long you can stand staying planet-bound."

She grinned at him. "More like how long you can put up with me planet-bound."


	3. Chapter 2

Smuggling was boring when the was no one to chase after you, that much was clear in the lazy day that followed lazy day inside the _Millenium Falcon'_s cockpit, the captian spending most of his time sleeping in his chair while the days simply passed him by. It wasn't that he was horrible at his job or that his ship ran like the hunk of junk it appeared to be. No, the simple fact that his business had lost most of its danger is what kept him grounded. Well, that, and the fact that his wife had insisted that he should stick to honest trading, what with her in a prominent seat on the Senate and all.

Han rolled over in his seat, a feat that would have proved rather difficult if he had not been spending the last three weeks sleeping in the blasted thing. Three weeks. The number seemed to be really hitting home now that he had realized just how long he'd been in the spaceport in Mos Eisley. Three whole weeks without a job, honest or not. He was anxious for something- anything- to happen, even something as dangerous as flying illegal shipments had been back in the good old days.

Yes, he missed it, those times when he was always running from someone who wanted to shoot him out of the sky, the thrill of eluding Imperial fighters, and the freedom of being able to take on whatever job he wanted to without having to run it past anyone but his Wookie co-pilot.

Solo mumbled something to himself about the single life, gaze staring out at the heat waves radiating off his ship and the walls of the port beyond that. In a matter of moments his eyes slipped shut.

A moment later, two figures slipped from their X-Wing fighters in a nearby hanger bay, their cloaks swishing about their booted feet. Luke, still weary from the morning, lagged behind his Padawan who semed far too eager to see Jawas and desert. A small blue and white Astrodroid wheeled along at his heels, thin treads leaving trails in the sand.

Sharna paused for a moment, turning to her master. "What's wrong, Master?" she asked, trying to keep the sarcastic bite from her voice. She knew her habit of poking fun at others was at the very least extremely unbecoming of a Jedi, but her life on the streets had ingrained it into her speech patterns. Besides, Master Skywalker knew that. He'd had a normal life, too, as far as she could tell. He joked and laughed like a normal person and often caught the unsuspecting visiting diplomat unawares through such actions.

Luke stared at her through the glare of Tatooine's twin suns. "I'm keeping Artoo company," he responded, grinning in spite of himself. The little droid gave an indignant whistle at the idea of needing companionship. After all, it spent most of its time with See-Threepio, and that tin man was more than enough company for one lifetime.

A bright laugh escaped the Padawan at the Astrodroid's reaction. "He's not that bad, Artoo," she chided mockingly, shooting her master another smirk.

Luke smiled back. "Yes, well, I appreciate that rare little compliment." He meant it, too. She usually had little to say that was not sarcastic about him that her defending him seemed a little odd, even if the insult had only come through in binary code.

He glanced up to the cargo ship they were walking towards, his mind instantly straying to what Han might be doing here. The captain had stopped smuggling as far as anyone knew, so there was no real reason for him to be here on this criminally governed planet with no work to be found here. For a moment he considered the possibility of Han having sold the ship at last but quickly shoved the thought away. Solo was more in love with that ship than he ever could a woman, and there was no way he would give the hunk of junk up for any reason other than dieing.

"We should sneak up on him," Sharna said after a brief moment of silence, her mind now racing with what the best way to go about pulling such a prank would be. "Han's not expecting us, is he?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Great." The wicked grin on her face would have disturbed almost anyone not used to such expressions. "Come on, Master Luke. It'll be fun!" She ran the short distance to the open boarding ramp, gesturing for him to follow once she reached the incline.

Luke shook his head, laughing slightly to himself at what he was about to do as he jogged after her. The act was juvenile, but he realized that she was right in insisting that he loosen up every once in a while. He had become so high strung as of late, what with the meetings he was asked to attend regualrly as the sole representative of the Jedi Council and taking care of Sharna's training as well as keeping up with his own routine. He needed a break, and perhaps a little joke was just what he would need to relax.

Artoo skimmed its way over the sand at its own pace, squealing happily at the new-found opportunity to be alone. It seemed to be ready to enjoy some silence aside from the whirring of its internal systems.


End file.
